F1 News
Gene Haas frustrated with miserable start to 2019 season
Jake Williams-Smith
Gene Haas has expressed his frustrations with Haas F1's start to the 2019 season after a string of disappointing results.
The American outfit has steadily been making progress since its debut in Formula 1 back in 2016 but has not pressed on this season, with Kevin Magnussen the only driver to score points for the team before the Spanish Grand Prix.
One problem the team has encountered is difficulties with tyre operating windows. The team owner said they were "playing games with a thermometer" rather than racing other cars.
“I think we had a miserable start to the season,” Haas told Motorsport.com.
“We qualified really well, so it says that we can do one or two laps quick. But then we lose tyre temperature, and when you lose tyre temperature, the cars sometimes just go away.
“It was warmer today, and we didn’t have that problem, but even with Grosjean on the restart, his tyres were a little bit cooler, but a couple of laps later he was back up to speed.
"It’s very critical to keep on top of the tyres. It seems like it’s just luck if you get the tyre in that right temperature zone.
"It would be nice if Pirelli could make it so it wasn’t so sensitive to that. We’re playing games with a thermometer, not racing cars.”
